The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-04-21

dark film rushes across the glating
eyes, and stream of bloo1 bursts
forth from the nostrils. The creature
tiiakes another desperate effort to close
its jaws upon the boat, or any thing in
Its Teach, but the heavy Bows ere
rained rapidly upon the round head,
until the brains ooze out of the heavy
cuts in the skull A co1vuls:ve gasp
runs through the large mass, and with
gurgle the animal rolls over dead.
The shark being killed. the sports
men feel their spirits rising AMI efforts
DIRE made 10 catch Others. The dead
animal is Secured to the boat by arioth=
ef piece Of rope; and then allowed to
float Some distance off in the Ocean.
The harpooner then takes his station
at the head Of the boat again, and
waits for further game. TIE. nunier-;
6ris fins that have been noticed around
the boat soon approach closer to the
dead carcass, attracted thither by the
hood. When the vofacious creatures
have approached fiear enough to the
tempting bait, turn in the reel is
taken and the dead animal drawn n
step or two nearer the whaleboat. The
bthet sharks follow it cautiously, and
this operation being Repeated several
TIMES the whole school of fhnS fn8n-
STEERS find themselves tempted within
tile reach of the harpool. A big mon
stcr is then singled out, and with 4
loud whirring noise the heavy iron
harpoon rushes through the air and
buries its head into the body of the
daring fish. Instantly great COM
motion follows in the water The I'M
inj ufed onts dart hurricdly away and
Seek safety in distance: The wounded
one follows, but Is suddenly brought
to a standstil1 by the harpooner; who
throws the Hthet end of his fope
around the reel, and instantly gets
ready another iron javclin, which he
also buries in the mass of living flesh.
This shark is dispatched with greater
tapidits than the first one; rs the har
poems often sink SO deeply into Tie
body that vital spot is. touched. If
the school can be enticed to the side of
the whaleboat again, this operation is
repeated as often as it proves effective.
The sharks are often lowed to the
beach and hauled UP on the sand,
where they afe disposed Of by
the hshermgn. Tie boat, is then
once more pitt dit to Sea dnd andthef
line and hook, temptingly baited;
thrown overheard. The average weight
of the great fish varies between 400 and
800 pounds, and occasionally one
weighing nearly 1000 pounds is caught.
the woEk of drawing In stGh Il
monster proves most exciting sport;
and the more danger that is run the
more attractive appears the work. Ole
afternoon in the autumn of 1879 par
ty of fisherman were engaged in this
sport off Nantucket. After a couple of
houfS exciting Work the fishermen hal
managed to catch three immense fish;
which they tied to the stern of their
boat, and started for the beach. A
school of sharks, attracted by the
red bloud, surrounded the whale boat
ON every side As the boat NOVEL toh
ward the long line of sandy beach
crimson track was left behind by the
dead sharks. This proved tempting TO
the other vorac:dus creatures, and, DIS II
by mutual consent, they all started in
pursuit of the ineft MASSES of flesh that
were floating away. A dozen of more
sharks seized upon the dead bodies and
began d lively fight for the pieces. The
Roadway of the boat was instantly
stopped by the fierce onslaught, and
as the vile creatures retreated seaward
with their prey the small craft was
quickly dragged after them. The cap
tain of the boat at first felt alarmed,
and ordered his men to cut the ropes
that held the dead bodies to 1t; but he
quickly countermanded this order as
the harpooner leaped to the head of the
boat and prepared to fight the animals.
The ropes were nearly n hundred
feet in length, and the attacking party,
consequently, too far away to be har-
pooned safely. The sail was then
quickly run down, and the disengaged
men began 10 reel in the heavy lines.
So fiercely were the sharks fighting
over their meal that it was with diff
Guilty that the reel could be turned; but
with the united efforts of the three
men several turns in the line was
taken, and the scene of conflict drew
much nearer to the boat.
The harpooner then singled out the
most daring of the monsters and hurled
his heavy javelin straight at its head
A dull thud. followed instantly b. an
extra splash in the water, told the men
how we'll the instrument had been
aimed. Ehe wounded shark instantly
started off in another direction, but
second harpoon soon intercepted its
Roadway. The great animal gasped
fearfully as it raised its head out of the
water, and then. with violent swish
with its tail, it rolled over on its back
in its death agonies. But instead of
improving the condition of the fisher
men, this work made their danger more
imminent Three or foIr more sharks
threw themselves on the dead boly of
their comrade and tried to tow it away
from the boat This increased the
speed of the boat considerably, and
soon the little craft was speeding swift
ly out at sea, propelled forward by the
maddened monsters. The stern of the
boat was nearly on level with the